Well, the marathon didn’t go exactly as planned. Monday in Boston ended up being even hotter than predicted and it reached 90 degrees, with very little humidity.

The weather was so hot that the marathon organization did something the’ve never done before: they offered a deferment to the 2013 Boston Marathon for participants who decide not to race.

In addition, they highly recommended that only those who qualified for the marathon should race, i.e. not the charity organization runners because they’re usually not as highly trained. They also stressed that people pay very careful attention to their bodies and stop the second they felt any signs of heat exhaustion or dehydration.

And finally, they kept the finish systems open an additional hour on race day to allow people to run extra slowly so they didn’t hurt themselves.

Basically the only point in running was really to say you ran a marathon (which Nate had no need to do), because no one, not even the elite athletes, could get a personal record on this race.

In the end, Nate decided not to defer. the combination of the fact that Nate had a full fan club (my parents flew in, his aunt took the train down, his mom and I came along) and the fact that he actually worked with a trainer for this race compared to just training on his own for the others made him really not want to wait til next year.

He hydrated a ton but got to mile 8 and just felt like crap so he stopped. A ton of other runners dropped out midway too, including last year’s male winner. The winner this year was a full 10 minutes slower than last years time, so you can imagine what the situation must have been like.

I think for Nate it was a physical plus a mental exhaustion. It had been a stressful choice just to decide to actually run, but he just didn’t want to hurt himself and ruin every race after because of an injury or bad memories of running.

Nate was definitely bummed by the whole thing and we all felt really bad for him. I was worrying so much about him before he even left for the race. When I stopped getting text updates about his progress in the race I was silently freaking out. I was SO glad when he had gotten back to the hotel and was able to call me!

I definitely think it was the wisest decision he could have made and I’m so glad he didn’t hurt himself.

We got back yesterday and were all a little drained. I really didn’t want to cook up some extravagant dinner, so I made this really easy meal I saw over on Confessions of a Chocoholic.

I also didn’t feel like dragging out the camera, so I experimented with taking pictures on my new iphone app Camera+. What do you guys think of how the pics came out? Not bad for a camera phone I think.

I very slightly adapted the recipe and made some buttered Pastina to go along with it. Yum!

Add potatoes, tossing to coat. Place potatoes in a large baking sheet lined with foil, leaving excess mustard mixture behind in the bowl. Roast for about 45 minutes or longer, turning potatoes midway, until the potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside.

While the potatoes are cooking, toss the sausage into the remaining mustard mix. Spread evenly on a separate baking sheet lined with foil. Place inside the oven about 20 minutes after the potatoes, and roast for 25 minutes. (i.e. the potatoes and sausage should finish cooking at the same time.

Take out both baking sheets from oven and toss potatoes and sausages together. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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24 Comments

Nate definitely made a SMART move. I remember it feeling really hot last year when I ran it…and that was a whole thirty degrees cooler than this year! There will always be another race, and another Boston (especially since it sounds like Nate is in awesome shape) and it’s better not to give yourself dehydration or really hurt yourself. Smart man you’ve got there!

That is so good that Nate decided to listen to his body. I’m sure it was a tough decision to stop, as I’m sure it was a tough decision even to try to go ahead in the first place. Hopefully the weather will be better for his next marathon. I’m sure it helped that he had so much support with him.

The potatoes look great, and I’m seriously impressed with how good the pictures are with the iphone camera. Good work!

Yeah, I’m proud of him for stopped…honestly I thought he had his heart set on this race so much that he’d hurt himself so I was relieved! You totally should download Camera+ if you have the iphone…it’s so cool

i love dijon mustard and potatoes! i made a similar salad last summer and remember loving it, yummmy! i’m sorry to hear about Nate, but i am sure he did what was best. you are such a good support to him.

I had to look for whole grain dijon because I didn’t have it either…but they’ll definitely have it in the mustard section of your market. You probably never noticed it because it looks the same as regular whole grain mustard!

Holy Close-ups Batman!! What a cool app (but since my husband works at RIM, officially I’m a BB girl ;-). Congratulations to Nate for doing what was right for him and his body under the circumstances. This looks like a delicious way to replenish protein and glycogen stores :).

Yeah my Husband was telling me Boston is really showing some high temperatures, he travels to Medford a lot for work…
It was a smart thing to listen to the body and stop, I can understand that it was disappointing but he did the right thing!!
B/W these potatoes look delicious, Dijon Mustard does wonders right.

This looks so rustic and delicious. It’s like a potato salad, but you are able to identify all the ingredients by looking at it, making the potatoes truly shine. P.S. I am new to your blog and am excited to be a new follower!

I think Nate made a smart decision – I have a lot of friends who ran it too and said it was BRUTAL. I was actually supposed to run as well but dropped out early in January, and I’m glad I did because I know I wouldn’t have fared well with the heat. There will be other races, and the Boston marathon will be here year after year
PS – I’m glad you liked the recipe!

Sorry for the late comment! I’m glad Nate tried but we cannot fight the weather. I’m glad nothing happen to Nate. I’m sure if the conditions were perfect, Nate could have finish it. Even the last year’s winner did not made it through because of cramps.

I know this was just a little add-on you made and not the featured recipe (which looks delicious) but buttered pastina is one of my favorite things. I used to eat it when I was a little kid, whenever I got sick. That or stellette (sp?)– the little stars? Or ancini de pepe (also sp.) Love them.

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Welcome!

My name is Amy and I am a 30-something-year-old living in New Jersey with my husband, Nate, and the newest addition to our family, baby Berkeley! I love food, food and food. Seriously, I dream about food. This blog will share my latest recipes trials and tribulations (sometimes healthy and sometimes not), with a little daily life mixed in :)